Pad Thai

Probably not authentic, but easy and delicious nonetheless.

Sauce:

• Juice from 1-2 limes
• 2 Tblsp. soy sauce
• 1-2 Tblsp. fish sauce (I use 1 1/2 Tblsp.)
• 1 Tblsp. dried shrimp, finely chopped
• 2 Tblsp. brown/palm sugar

Rest of the ingredients:

• 1 Tblsp. cooking oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 Thai chili, finely chopped
• 1-2 chicken breasts, sliced thin
• 1/2 package (200 g) 5mm-wide rice noodles
• 1 cup soy bean sprouts
• 2 green onions, chopped into rings
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup peanuts (preferably unsalted), chopped

Put noodles in a bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Break apart the noodles a bit with a pasta spoon to keep them from sticking together. Let noodles sit in hot water until they are soft (about 10-15 minutes, which should be about enough time to slice/chop/prepare the other ingredients). Mix the ingredients for the sauce in a small cup or bowl. Heat oil in a wok or deep pot over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, crush garlic into it and add chopped chili. Immediately add chicken breast and fry until cooked through. Drain noodles and add them to chicken, stir briefly, and then add the sauce ingredients. Cook sauce until sugar is dissolved and the sauce begins to stick to the noodles. Add green onions and bean sprouts and stir to mix. Lower heat to medium. Then, push the noodle mixture to the side, and break an egg into the free space. Scramble egg, cook until semi-solid, and cut into strips with a spatula. When the egg is cooked through, stir it into the noodle mixture. Finally, stir in the chopped peanuts.

Makes two large servings.

Variations:

• to add shrimp to the basic recipe, omit one chicken breast. If shrimp is cooked, add to noodle mixture with bean sprouts and green onions. If shrimp is uncooked, I would probably fry it with the chicken (but I've never done this).
• if noodles are too spicy, omit the chili.
• if noodles aren't spicy enough, either add more chilis at the beginning or top finished noodles with ground dried red chilis.
• For more color and/or vegetables, add tomato slices to finished noodles and/or add sliced/shredded carrots or leeks to frying chicken when it is not quite cooked through. Alternatively, top with a few sprouts or sprinkle on some chopped peanuts.

Thai Chicken Soup

Like Tom Kha Kai, but using ginger instead of galangal, and probably there are lots of other things about it that aren't exactly original.

Makes: 6 servings

Cost per serving (Heidelberg): ~€1,95 (includes the cost of chicken to make stock)

Calories per serving: ~253

Ingredients:

• 6 cups (~1½ liters) chicken stock
• 2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 1½ cups shiitake or other mushrooms, sliced
• 2" fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tomato, cut in wedges
• 2 Thai chilies, minced (or substitute crushed red pepper flakes)
• ½ 14-oz. or 400-g can coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• fresh Thai basil leaves (for garnish)
• green onions, sliced (for garnish)
• wheat or rice noodles

Mince the bulb portion of the lemongrass stalk.  Keep the upper part of the stalk.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add chicken, mushrooms, lemongrass (both the minced part and the stalk), lime leaves, and chilies.  Boil or simmer until chicken is cooked.

Over medium heat, add ginger, coconut milk, fish sauce, and tomato.  Stir well and simmer 1-2 minutes. 

Meanwhile, cook the wheat or rice noodles in a separate pot according to package directions.

Turn heat to minimum.  Add lime juice and stir.  Taste the soup - if it's too sour, add 1 tsp. palm or brown sugar.  Make other changes as needed.

Put noodles in bowls and ladle soup over them.  Sprinkle with basil and onions.

Basil Chicken

Makes: 2 servings

Cost per serving: ~€2,12 excluding rice, ~€2,26 including broken rice

Calories per serving: 440 excluding rice, 646 including one cup cooked rice

Ingredients:

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 4 Thai chili peppers, finely chopped
• 2 chicken breasts, slivered
• ½-1 bunch Thai basil
• 1½ tablespoons fish sauce

Fry garlic and onions in 1 Tblsp. olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the chili peppers and fry for a further minute. Add the chicken and cook until done. Remove from heat and stir in basil and fish sauce. Serve with rice.

Thai Red Chicken Curry

Makes: 4 servings

Cost per serving (Heidelberg): ~2,11€ (excludes rice)

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 2½ tablespoons red curry paste (we use the stuff from the Asian grocery, but you can make your own)
• 1 400-ml/14-oz can coconut milk
• 1½ tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 Thai chilis, sliced diagonally
• leaves from 1 bunch Thai basil
• a few kaffir lime leaves, torn (in frozen section at Asian grocery)
• 1½ teaspoons palm sugar (I recommend the solid kind - can substitute brown sugar)
• 1 can bamboo shoots

 Heat half the coconut milk over medium heat, then add curry paste.  Mix until even and the curry paste starts to form an oily sheen on the surface of the mixture.  (It will be bubbling.)

Add the chicken and stir until cooked through.  Then add the remaining coconut milk and the bamboo, followed by the chilis, fish sauce and sugar.  Stir until boiling.

Add basil and torn lime leaves, stir, and serve with rice.  You may want to pick out the lime leaves and chilis depending on taste.

* Red curry paste is somewhat spicy on its own; if you want limited spiciness you may want to omit the chilis.